-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
BEYOND: Two Souls (Ellen Page, Willem Dafoe) |OT| Press Triangle to Aiden
- Thread starter Replicant
- Start date
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
It was the last chapter I played just before midnight yesterday. Very tense
horror
Haven't been digging this at all so far and I'm already feeling some buyer's remorse setting in. I think i'm reaching the climax of the
section and the entire script is just so nonsensical and the plotting is very predictable. I feel like I'm almost spoiling the game for everyone else by pointing out that the story will throw every obvious telegraphed obstacle/confrontation at the character as it can for the sake of the (few) gameplay bits.
Maybe this will change after this section but the whole game feels like a strong technical production foiled by lousy direction and a very one directional script.
Navajo
Maybe this will change after this section but the whole game feels like a strong technical production foiled by lousy direction and a very one directional script.
Alcoholica
Neo Member
Anyone else experiencing freezing issues? I've had it happen 3-4 times now and even when i went into my trophy collection to see what i had gotten i clicked on one of the trophies , got an error, then froze the system. 120 gig slim fyi.
If you want to end the situation "peacefully" you need to
exit from Aiden to Jodie, and then she will quickly get prompt to force Aiden to stop.
Acquiescence
Member
Tesco Direct sent me an email this morning telling me my Special Edition has been dispatched, so I'll get it either Thursday or Friday. The wildly mixed reviews aren't going to influence me - I'm not that impressionable. I'm definitely nowhere near as hyped for Beyond as I was for Heavy Rain, but I've enjoyed what I've played from Quantic Dream enough to know that whatever they release is most probably worth paying for. I'm sure I'll like it, but criticisms of a lack of tension are concerning, and I think that the style of QTEs I played in the demo are worse than how they were utilised in Heavy Rain. Flicking the right stick left, right, up or down is nowhere near as involving as all the varied and context-heavy inputs HR required of the player. The only reason QTEs get such a bad rep is because most games use them in an awful manner. I still think HR not only made QTEs fun, but perfected them, and I don't understand why Cage had to change them for Beyond.
Anyway, we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the advice.
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
What's the difference between your special and regular edition?
The Asian edition is... Not much I think. Both versions have the additional DLC and OST, but the "special" one comes with a steel casing and is only $1.50 more expensive than the regular edition.
The Asian edition is... Not much I think. Both versions have the additional DLC and OST, but the "special" one comes with a steel casing and is only $1.50 more expensive than the regular edition.
I'm not really liking how it jumps around, so far up to the
segment. There are things here like
Otherwise I have been enjoying it a good bit. The actual VA is huuuugely improved. Only oddity to me was the one teenager at the party, what in the hell was with that ridiculously deep voice.
Homeless
Jodie holding a knife to her wrist, or being ready to jump off a bridge but I have no real context on why she is in such a bad place now. I get that it should all wrap around and "click" but for now during the going through the motions parts it's just too disconnected to me.
Otherwise I have been enjoying it a good bit. The actual VA is huuuugely improved. Only oddity to me was the one teenager at the party, what in the hell was with that ridiculously deep voice.
I think the fact that the game doesn't take place in chronological order and has you hopping around all through the timeline is an awful, awful decision.
I wasn't a big fan of the whole scattered memories thing either at first, but once you play a little more you kinda see why they chose to do it, or at least I did.
And yeah, that one kid made me think my game was glitched or something at first lol.
This game did something that I've never really witnessed in any other game. Choosing Ellen Page as the main protagonist and having Aiden be an invisible ghost was an absolutely brilliant move. By choosing a known actress to play Jodie, the game gives up all notion of having the player feel like they are the character themselves. It goes against all design philosophy that the playable character has to be an extension of the player themselves. Ditch all of those bald Caucasian protagonist that this gen seems to have a dime a dozen.
I could never "role play" as Jodie, but when ever control switches to Aiden, I feel like I'm Aiden. I've rarely felt this immersed in a game before. All of the mischievous things that I can do as Aiden and my choice to refuse Jodie's plea to stop was something that I chose myself.
There are a lot of RPGs that allow an evil or good action, but I'm never comfortable with doing the evil side of things, at least for the whole game. Me as Aiden, however, I don't mind wreaking some havoc.
I'm avoiding all reviews for now, before I start thinking like those reviews and not give the game credit it deserves.
I could never "role play" as Jodie, but when ever control switches to Aiden, I feel like I'm Aiden. I've rarely felt this immersed in a game before. All of the mischievous things that I can do as Aiden and my choice to refuse Jodie's plea to stop was something that I chose myself.
There are a lot of RPGs that allow an evil or good action, but I'm never comfortable with doing the evil side of things, at least for the whole game. Me as Aiden, however, I don't mind wreaking some havoc.
I'm avoiding all reviews for now, before I start thinking like those reviews and not give the game credit it deserves.
I agree with your statement. I adored Beyond for its characters rather than its plot. My favorite chapter didn't involve the main plot at all,
Homeless.
After completing the game, my memory of it is getting fonder and fonder. I spoke to a friend about it, and we might play the game co-op. I wanted to be Aiden initially, but I loved being Jodie. Plus it will be funner to see how my friend handles Aiden.
Alcoholica
Neo Member
Yep.
statham
Member
Thanks!
WrenchNinja
Member
I wish this whole game was just you ruining her life as Aiden and constantly harassing the people around her.
NoSkillz187
Member
Beat the game. I enjoyed it but I wasn't insane about it. Good game overall, I just think Jodie's life
How many endings are in this game? I would like to go back and make some different choices to see how it affects things, or maybe they don't at all.
Is too depressing. Literally each chapter I was thinking to myself, how is this situation going to turn bad? And they always went bad.
How many endings are in this game? I would like to go back and make some different choices to see how it affects things, or maybe they don't at all.
flipswitch
Member
So I really liked heavy rain, will I like this? Reason I ask is well the reviews are a bit over the place and I'm still not sure what to do.
Maybe I should try the demo first.
Maybe I should try the demo first.
YOU'RE A MONSTER!!!
definitely try the demo first, how would you know whether the guy with the 9/10 score was right while the 4/10 was wrong... (if you don't hold an agenda against David Cage that's it) just try it yourself
So, finally finished the game. Here's some thoughts:
- The VA is good enough (Ellen was great), but the main issue is the animations and facial expressions. For a game like this, this was a huge problem for me (as it was in HR).
- Those "action sequences", I would've much prefered them to be simple QTEs as I RARELY fail QTEs, but this system in Beyond just confuses me sometimes and I end up failing the sequence.
- I don't know if it's my memory, but I kinda remember HR having way more interactive environment than in Beyond. And it did feel more linear than HR, as there's a lot of scenes where your only option is to push up on the analog stick.
- Issues with the plot etc etc everything everyone mentioned already.
And I think I prefer HR, mostly I don't even know why, maybe because it was the first time playing something like this, maybe because I felt that HR focused on what it's trying to be and Beyond feels like a mix of things for the sake of it. I don't know.
But overall I liked the game. I liked Jodie; I relate a lot to her. And the game looks almost next gen-y at times (here's some proof), I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed HR. (Sorry for the bad writing/phrasing/articulation).
- The VA is good enough (Ellen was great), but the main issue is the animations and facial expressions. For a game like this, this was a huge problem for me (as it was in HR).
- Those "action sequences", I would've much prefered them to be simple QTEs as I RARELY fail QTEs, but this system in Beyond just confuses me sometimes and I end up failing the sequence.
- I don't know if it's my memory, but I kinda remember HR having way more interactive environment than in Beyond. And it did feel more linear than HR, as there's a lot of scenes where your only option is to push up on the analog stick.
- Issues with the plot etc etc everything everyone mentioned already.
And I think I prefer HR, mostly I don't even know why, maybe because it was the first time playing something like this, maybe because I felt that HR focused on what it's trying to be and Beyond feels like a mix of things for the sake of it. I don't know.
But overall I liked the game. I liked Jodie; I relate a lot to her. And the game looks almost next gen-y at times (here's some proof), I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed HR. (Sorry for the bad writing/phrasing/articulation).
dragonbane
Member
I agree. Too much complaints about the prompts I guess. Also if they kept the same system from Heavy Rain everyone would have probably just said that it's not innovating enough or something. Which doesn't make much sense, considering how less other games change, but for this genre for some reason it is always expected.
I mean when they first showed Beyond it actually still used HR's QTEs. Every preview pretty much said "it still has the boring HR prompts. It's just Heavy Rain 2.0". Probably the reason why they changed it.
Oh well, there are still some tense fights in the game. Especially when they mix the right stick stuff with some HR QTEs.
That's weird.
The Hunted chapter before showed you that she is on the run since weeks and mentally exhausted till the last degree. That's how she ends up in Homeless. The Party showed you that she has no friends or love. Most of the other scenes showed you that she is sick of Aiden and doesn't want him anymore. She has no reason to continue at this point and is incredibly depressed. The attempted suicide hit a very strong note with me, I could perfectly relate.
Exactly. Such good acting too. Playing co-op is a very good idea.
Callibretto
Member
The game looks nextgen sometimes. It's really amazing . And image quality and framerate are better than tlou too. No other game on ps3 is gonna touch this game visually.
flipswitch
Member
definitely try the demo first, how would you know whether the guy with the 9/10 score was right while the 4/10 was wrong... (if you don't hold an agenda against David Cage that's it) just try it yourself
I have to admit when I came into the review thread I was expecting 9s and some 10s, but that wasn't the case. I'm pretty sure HR rated higher. I know not everyone likes these games btw.
WrenchNinja
Member
I never play the bad guy in games, but something about being a ghost makes me really want to, and hearing Ellen Page yell at me for ruining everything makes me want to even more.
I like being an asshole ghost.
dragonbane
Member
Heavy Rain was a different time. Since then a lot of games have released (most indies though) that focus on storytelling. The bar to greatness is a lot higher today than in 2010. For example the reviewer of GiantBomb thinks that Beyond is a better game than Heavy Rain, yet gives it a lower score. It's a different reviewer and he doesn't score Beyond in comparison to Heavy Rain, but to everything else out there.
Also some reviewers definitely went into this game with some bias. Since you enjoyed HR, you will probably like this as well. Try the demo first though.
It's HUGELY improved over HR though. Better play that game again to see how bad it really is. Except for TLoU and L.A.Noire no other game really comes close to Beyond.
Should have used easy mode. Shows you the directions with arrows
Journey's story is not "playing safe". It's poetic and abstract, it does a lot with very little. Walking Dead's story is just awesome. It's riveting, well written, you care for these characters through the end. And for all its smokes and mirrors, the illusion of choice was pretty convincing.
All in all, I wouldn't say these games get a "free pass" at all. They're just good, very good at what they do and people recognize that.
Yeah it's definitely improved, but it just wasn't enough for me
I knew about this but I didn't want the whole game to be easier.Should have used easy mode. Shows you the directions with arrows
I'm about an hour in, and it froze when switching to Aiden. Hope this won't be an issue.
SniperHunter
Banned
Really loving the game! I am totally hooked. The jumps are really stupid though
I have to oddly agree, when I played the demo, I enjoyed wreaking havoc.
Those who finished the game:
Any of you let the asian dudes take Ryan's eye out? Didn't it feel like a throwback to MGS3 and Big Boss? (since Cage likes Kojima and his work).. I know I'm reaching, lol. Though Jodie couldn't resist him with dat eye patch, looking like a boss
Revolutionary
Member
Yes and yes.Those who finished the game:Any of you let the asian dudes take Ryan's eye out? Didn't it feel like a throwback to MGS3 and Big Boss? (since Cage likes Kojima and his work).. I know I'm reaching, lol. Though Jodie couldn't resist him with dat eye patch, looking like a boss
Was totally expecting him to say "kept you waiting, huh?" when he showed up with the sub lol
LOL that would've made the game a 100x better for me xD
freshmendontod
Member
Just finished the game. Now I really understand the polarizing reviews. I loved Heavy Rain and thought Indigo Prophecy was really good up until the Aztec stuff became more abundant and Tyler basically stopped showing up. But I wasn't really a fan of this one.
And, like mostly everyone else, the scenarios jumping around was really unnecessary. The game would've been much better if it played chronologically, especially because the scenes that switched really had nothing to do with each other.
But I think the biggest problem I had, there's hardly any variety in the game itself. There's nothing to interact with, barely any conversation options, no inner monologues. Even as Aiden, all you do is break mirrors and knock over furniture. I think that's why Heavy Rain + IP did so well, you had multiple characters with multiple paths to go in that had consequences. Hell, I didn't even die or fail at any point in Beyond.
It's a shame, I was really excited about this game, but it just felt rushed and unfinished.
And, like mostly everyone else, the scenarios jumping around was really unnecessary. The game would've been much better if it played chronologically, especially because the scenes that switched really had nothing to do with each other.
But I think the biggest problem I had, there's hardly any variety in the game itself. There's nothing to interact with, barely any conversation options, no inner monologues. Even as Aiden, all you do is break mirrors and knock over furniture. I think that's why Heavy Rain + IP did so well, you had multiple characters with multiple paths to go in that had consequences. Hell, I didn't even die or fail at any point in Beyond.
It's a shame, I was really excited about this game, but it just felt rushed and unfinished.
Just finished that segment myself, and found it to be the point where my opinion is really fading on this game. I suppose as someone that has spent my time playing Aiden as Casper the friendly ghost, following orders and only being helpful, it does get awkward when the game forces my hand to cause mischief and grief without choice and only suffering consequence.
I try to infer why Ellen Page would consider herself cursed and in a suicide slump early into that sequence, but I have yet to truly see what happened that caused her to abandon the CIA and Willem Dafoe, left only with the clue that she "was used". Obviously she would be for her gift, but many of the "choices" really do lack meaningful support for me to gauge a response, if only from the chosen order of events that play out. Probably would have been more powerful had I witnessed the betrayal earlier on, or whatever I presume happened to cause her to abandon those that trained and cared for her.
The party sequence earlier also was a bit awkward given my standoff-ish approach(played the role of the social awkward given that all I knew about her was her life in scientific captivity), only to have everyone become unrealistically vicious at the b-day girl's cunty response to disliking my present to her. I let it slide and went all "Carrie" on the guests, but only to scare and not threaten with any violence. It was clear I really did nothing to deserve their fear and rejection of me up to that point, but the linear narrative demanded that those kids somehow turned on me.
The party sequence earlier also was a bit awkward given my standoff-ish approach(played the role of the social awkward given that all I knew about her was her life in scientific captivity), only to have everyone become unrealistically vicious at the b-day girl's cunty response to disliking my present to her. I let it slide and went all "Carrie" on the guests, but only to scare and not threaten with any violence. It was clear I really did nothing to deserve their fear and rejection of me up to that point, but the linear narrative demanded that those kids somehow turned on me.
Still am enjoying the game somewhat, but Heavy Rain delivered a far more engaging experience with a bit more well-rounded motivations and story-telling. If things don't improve through to the end, I will feel buyers remorse at blowing $60 and not $20 or 30 instead.
The brazilian release was a gigantic mess, the game didn't come with portuguese, only English and French, but hey, whatever, right? So then I proceed to claim my pre-order prizes, but turns out not only the game doesn't have portuguese, but the system doesn't even recognize it as being the brazilian version, so the DLC won't work, because it's region locked, and I can't use the (beautiful) avatars because I had to make a new brazilian account to claim the rewards (my main account is an US one).
So if anyone could please share their US pre-order goodies with me through a dummy account, I'd be really, really glad.
So if anyone could please share their US pre-order goodies with me through a dummy account, I'd be really, really glad.
Wow at the condenser level. Crazy graphics. I'm starting to dig the two main leads more too. I had to laugh as I was just thinking how far Cage has come from that Diner scene in Indigo Prophecy and yet how close he remains to it. From a gameplay perspective I mean.
I've had to quit out of the game a lot, but it is neat to see Jodi's face changing on the menu. I was legit impressed at (level after Condenser)
Jodi. I love Quantic Dreams face work.
This is a good October game. A neat ghost story. That 'soundtrack' that came with the game sucks though. I mean, 4 tracks? C'mmmmmon.
I've had to quit out of the game a lot, but it is neat to see Jodi's face changing on the menu. I was legit impressed at (level after Condenser)
homeless
This is a good October game. A neat ghost story. That 'soundtrack' that came with the game sucks though. I mean, 4 tracks? C'mmmmmon.
SlasherJPC
Banned
My video review. I loved it. I truly had the feels throughout the entire game, and YES IT IS A GAME! Why The Walking Dead get's praised and David/QuanticDreams games get trashed, I'll never understand.
I've liked what i've played so far, but my biggest problem with the game so far is how it's structured. You go from one point to a completely different one with very little context or any clue as to who you're with,where exactly you are, or why you're even there in the first place. I'd rather the game have a consistent flow/progression opposed to being a little girl in pajamas one moment to having to
.
David Cage certain doesn't do himself any favors by making the game this way and I can definitely see why a reviewer would rate the game pretty harshly because of that, seeing as how the story is one of the main selling points of the game.
With that said, i can't wait to dig more into the game tomorrow.
take down/outmaneuver an entire SWAT team the next.
David Cage certain doesn't do himself any favors by making the game this way and I can definitely see why a reviewer would rate the game pretty harshly because of that, seeing as how the story is one of the main selling points of the game.
With that said, i can't wait to dig more into the game tomorrow.
GillianSeed79
Member
Great review! I think I'm finally sold on this game. The reviews had me a little worried, but then I remembered that I've liked all of Quantic Dreams past games. Once I finish GTAV, this is going to be my next purchase and I'm really looking forward to it tbqh.
WAT? Is this true? That's kind of disappointing. That's another thing that I love about Heavy Rain apart from the complicated QTEs. I wish Cage would just ignored the detractor complaining about HR gameplay. He can fix the script and the acting but leave the gameplay of HR alone.
MotionBlue
Member
Beat the game. Ending spoliers:
I think some of the reviews were right, the time skipping decreases some of the emotional "umph", but some of the scenes are still powerful. I felt the Indian segment could of be better done, it felt really short considering how important some of those characters are supposed to be.
At the end, I chose life; the homeless people, they seemed the most genuinely loving. Also 3 of the endings show apocalyptic futures. Hopefully the game does well and warrants a sequel.
Also, I instantly hated Agent Ryan. He is such a prick, and the game did little to convince me otherwise. Cole on the other hand was awesome.
At the end, I chose life; the homeless people, they seemed the most genuinely loving. Also 3 of the endings show apocalyptic futures. Hopefully the game does well and warrants a sequel.
Also, I instantly hated Agent Ryan. He is such a prick, and the game did little to convince me otherwise. Cole on the other hand was awesome.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Adien does much more then just push furniture around. You see into peoples thoughts/the past, you posse people, you kill people. As for the interactions, they might be a bit more limited but there are still some things you can completely miss if you just make a line for the obvious forward path. For example in one scene I floated in a room as Aiden I didn't have to and the person started babbling that he could see me. LOL
Finished the game. I liked it for the most part, but it definitely topped for me at the "Homeless" chapter and the
chapter immediately following it.
The story got a bit silly/cheesy, especially towards the end, but I didn't mind too much. The ending
teenage angst
The story got a bit silly/cheesy, especially towards the end, but I didn't mind too much. The ending
I first chose was "Zoey" mostly out of curiosity from thinking by the image that it would be a lesbian relationship kinda deal. Seeing how everyone from "Homeless" is reunited and living happy lives made me pretty happy myself and post-apocalyptic future with Jodie and Zoey as the heroes sounds oddly compelling.